WTPN

Must... post...

2008-03-04T10:49:00.000-08:00

The thing with blogs, say I (in the process creating another of my celebrated quotes), is that they don't write themselves. Therein lies the rub. So here I am, firmly en route to mediocrity, filling screens with inanities. The India trip went well, and whenever I noticed anything mildly interesting, I kept thinking, "Oh, this will make a good entry." But ego got the better of me and I resisted the temptation to substitute quality with quantity.

Now that I am back, what should I notice but that old blogs have been rekindled and new ones set ablaze, so I must post haste (wink and a smile), and hope that inspiration will come or that you won't mind. Of course, I can always take the sober view that no one is really reading. God I am happy that no one is scoring these blogs.

The regular driver

2008-02-04T22:58:00.000-08:00

Mr. S now has his own car. It is a white Ambassador. It is registered as a private car, so if we are stopped on the way by traffic police, we are required to say that we are family friends and that he is dropping us somewhere. He said that the car used to belong to a Circle Inspector. He kept it white and he has a small Indian flag in the front. It is in a transparent cover because he is not allowed to fly the flag. He said that he wants to convey the impression that it is a government car, so that he is not stopped. The car is equipped with a DVD player. We watched parts of Atanokkade and Sri Ramadasu.

BTW, the bath in the new upstairs bathroom went well. After I got out, I realized that Dad had locked me in. I jumped and shouted and threw down a long wire and banged the plug point against the side walls/door, to no avail. Then, in a show of my characteristic genius, I moved my act to the other side of the building, where my mom was cooking. I got out in 30 seconds, and had no answer when she looked at the plug and wire and asked me, "Why did you not call us?"

Thought eating me right now: My previous post is missing a closing " in a quote. I was not able to figure out a way to edit published posts. I will have to add this to the baggage I carry around everywhere. Sigh.

Hooray. Bumped into the link to edit posts. God is kind.

India Trip Facts and Thoughts

2008-02-04T21:14:00.000-08:00

Day -1 = Friday Feb 1, 2008

Day 0 affirmation: Indians (including South Indians) are low on civic sense, and some times, common sense. This is not an opinion, but an informed fact.

Day 1:

Revelation: Neighbors in the rear are rearing poultry. At least one of the roosters gets disoriented and loses his sense of time when it is cloudy.

Went to the temple in perfect conditions. Sunday morning, cloudy, temperature in low 30s, slight breeze, no crowd, no loudspeakers blaring faith.

Watched Indians get their ass whooped before rain saved the day.

Day 2:

Watched Super Bowl from the start of 2nd quarter. God bless cable TV and Ten Sports. Had a couple of no-name guys doing the commentary, which killed some of the effect. One half-wit kept saying that the Giants were in control as Brady went down the field - "If I am the Giants right now, I am happy. They are not letting them make big plays. They are taking time off the clock ( ?!@#?). Eventually, someone (in the Patriots) will panic (?!@#?)". This moron notwithstanding, it was a great game to watch. Happy for Eli, and concerned for sis. One of these days, she will be seeing a shrink.

Visited folks in twin cities. Meeting kith and kin is fun.

If you ever had the urge to photoshop Attha's face onto a naked 9 month old boy's body, you can look at their second grandkid instead.
Pedanaanna spoke a lot about his childhood/young adult days - incarceration, fistfights and other forms of social activism. From unemployment frustrations at the start of his career, to four job offers after retirement, he has come a long way. World is full of quiet heroes. Did not realize till Peddamma pointed out that I had not dined at her house in two decades. The meal was awesome.
Hi-Tec City cousins are cute as ever.

Day 3:

Have been watching my food. I definitely do not want to gain weight, in fact I'd like to lose some. Was 70kg on Day 1, due to the usual backups. 69 on Day 2. Went to the stadium in the morning for a jog. Bumped into an interesting character who gave me company. Within 30 seconds of meeting, he told me that he felt very bad that he had not studied. Then he proceeded to guess that I was from out of country. "America or Australia?" he inquired. How did he guess? "Out here, people just want to smoke, drink and bang hookers. Not many people want to run in the morning." He told me about his life - his early wayward days, how he settled down after marriage, his two vehicle travel company (Sumo and Indica) and so on. In my turn, I told him about the obesity epidemic in the USA and sister's marathon run. After a decent 5 miles and 50 crunches, I got back home on the Trendy, which stopped only once on the way back. Dad invited me to use the new bathroom upstairs, with its bath tub. No curtain but no matter, since water will dry up soon. Mom was hesitant because it was Tuesday, but then said that it should be ok because it is Trayodasi. I gave her my trademark snicker. Ok, time to go use the new bathroom.

Day 0

2008-01-22T17:28:00.000-08:00

I have arrived, me hearties.